Rudolf Serkin's complete Columbia recordings

Sony has reissued Rudolf Serkin's complete recordings for Columbia, at 75 CDs quite a substantial box.  I listened to every one of them while writing my review, which can be accessed by clicking here.  

A study in contrasts: Beethoven and Stravinsky at Severance

In a previous post I complained that the Cleveland Orchestra’s programming this season was reminiscent of a trip to Applebee’s.  One may argue whether or not the food is actually tasty, but one cannot claim that it’s adventurous.  The irony in my comment is that I plan on attending more Cleveland  Orchestra concerts this season than ever before.  Perhaps there is something to be said for the tried and the true. 

Last week, the season began with a revival of 2014’s production of The Cunning Little Vixen, which the orchestra will also be bringing to Europe later this month.  It was a highly imaginative staging of a challenging and relatively lesser known opera – and it was a delight to see it again. 

This week, the orchestra presented a program of two highly contrasting works: Beethoven’s String Quartet in A minor, Op. 132 and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. 

I vividly recall the first time I heard Beethoven’s Op. 132.  It began, like a few other musical stories, in my grandmother’s basement.  I found a box of old, mostly Classical records – including 78rpm records and early LPs.  One of those was a Columbia Masterworks mono LP of the Budapest String Quartet playing this very piece.  As I’d already heard the more popular symphonies, concertos, and piano sonatas (in particular the “Appassionata”, about which I was obsessed), I had certain expectations – which were promptly defied.  If, in the Fifth Symphony, Beethoven shouts to the audience, in the A minor Quartet, we hear his most secret and intimate thoughts.  One of Beethoven’s last works, the Quartet was composed in the aftermath of a serious illness during which Beethoven expected to die.  But he recovered and lived for another year and a half.  The work begins with a brief introduction which borders on the atonal before settling into the key of A minor – but not for long, as the exposition features many abrupt starts, stops, and modulations.  The heart of the work is the central movement, titled "Holy song of thanksgiving of a convalescent to a Diety".  There is something about this movement in which Beethoven leaves the physical world behind and enters the metaphysical.  I’m left wondering if the composer had a near-death experience.  The final movement is one almost unrelenting despair until Beethoven modulates to A major and ends the work on a hopeful note.  Franz Welser-Möst’s arrangement for string orchestra essentially recreated the work in larger form, with the discreet addition of double-basses occasionally reinforcing the cello line - one octave lower.   Even with the larger orchestra, the work’s intimacy emerged intact.  The performance was exemplary with the exception for a violin solo at the end of the brief fourth movement – which notably broke the mood of the piece. 

Following the intermission was Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.  If there were any musings about the irony of performing the Rite of Spring at the beginning of Autumn, they were quickly cast aside.  There is often the temptation in this piece to go the “sonic spectacular” route and let the brass and percussion drown out the other instruments.  Not this time.  Welser-Möst, which used the 1947 version of the score, brought forth many lines, particularly in the strings, which are often inaudible.  The opening Introduction and Augers of Spring had a sensual quality, as if one was awakening refreshed and stretching after a long nap – the woodwind playing was especially notable here.  Welser-Möst guided the orchestra with a sense of inevitability through the Spring Rounds to the Dance of the Earth – never allowing sheer speed to replace propulsive drive.  The mystery of the opening minutes of The Sacrifice was shattered by Glorification of the Chosen One, with the Sacrificial Dance unleashing the orchestra’s full savagery.   Often noted for its refinement, our hometown band can get plenty loud when required – but it was balanced loudness, without the distorted amplification that Dan & I were subjected to at Ricky Martin’s Las Vegas concert a few weeks ago.  The audience leapt to its feet in a sustained and enthusiastic ovation, cheering as individual sections were singled out.    

The audience was graced with an encore: the Good Friday music from Wagner’s Parsifal. I hope there will be more encores during the Cleveland Orchestra’s centennial season.